First the students, now the teachers: Artificial intelligence should correct schoolwork faster and more fairly.
von Sylvie Debelyak
First it was the students who discovered AI for themselves: having homework written, improving texts, summaries at the push of a button. ChatGPT has become the new best friend at school for many. But now the pendulum is swinging back. Teachers are also increasingly using the popular tool.
It’s usually the big final boss just before the break bell: papers that are corrected too slowly and grades that, in the opinion of many students, are distributed unfairly. And for teachers, correcting is probably one of the least pleasant tasks. Help from AI promises one thing above all: time savings.
There are now numerous specially developed correction software. There, teachers can upload PDFs, text files or even photos of handwritten work. “It can be helpful,” says Rafael Mair. He is a business administration teacher at the WFO in Bolzano and knows how much time correcting takes: “You can calculate half an hour to an hour per student.”
He also occasionally uses AI to correct schoolwork in lower grades. However, this is hardly possible in higher classes. Although the AI tools are well positioned linguistically, the technology reaches its limits when it comes to mathematical tasks and logical thinking. “It is difficult with complex topics such as balance sheets or accounting,” explains Mair – especially with free AI versions.
Nevertheless, he is observing how artificial intelligence is increasingly establishing itself in the teachers’ room. Younger teachers in particular are already using AI as a correction aid. However, it is important to “remain self-critical and take another look at it with your own knowledge”. The business teacher emphasizes that it in no way replaces pedagogical assessment: “A pure AI assessment is neither sensible nor fairer.”
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